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Anti-mining advocate in Bukidnon killed inside his own home

Saturday, March 17, 2012


Anti-mining advocate in Bukidnon killed inside his own home


Jimmy Liguyon, in his capacity as barangay captain, consistently refused to sign agreements with mining companies , which would have allowed them access to operate on the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples; this made him the target of harassments by paramilitary groups and the 8th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

BY INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

ILIGAN CITY–Human rights organizations and advocacy groups promoting the rights of indigenous peoples have condemned the March 5, 2012 killing of indigenous leader and human rights advocate Jimmy Liguyon in Purok 2, Barangay Dao, San Fernando, Bukidnon. Liguyon was shot dead inside his house allegedly by a leader of a paramilitary group. He was 36.

According to reports posted on the website of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), Liguyon was the vice chairman of Kaugalingong Sistema sa Igpasasindog to Lumadnong Ogpaan (KASILO), an organization of indigenous peoples from the southern municipalities of Bukidon. Kasilo advocates for the defense of land rights, and the the sustainable use of environmental resources. Liguyon was also the Dao barangay captain and a staunch opponent of mining companies as he campaigned against their operations in the region.

Around 6:00 p.m. last March 5, Liguyon was reportedly inside his house when he was approached and then shot at by a certain Aldy “Butsoy” Salusad. Witnesses said the killer’s father, Ben Salusad, is head of a paramilitary group connected to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the San Fernando Matigsalug Tribal Datus or SANMATRIDA. The paramilitary group is said to hold a certificate of ancestral domain and has been actively campaigning for the entry of mining companies in the region since 2009.


(Photo courtesy of FrontlineDefenders.org / bulatlat.com)
Based on accounts of witnesses, as reported to human rights groups, the killer arrived at Liguyon’s house with 15 other individuals. Liguyon was sitting on a bench with his two brothers when Salusad ordered him to move to another bench. When Liguyon got up, Salusad shot and killed him three times. Witnesses also said that Salusad then justified what he did by shouting that Liguyon had refused to sign an agreement with Sanmatrida. He also reportedly issued a threat that anyone else who went against Sanmatrida would also be killed.
Salusad is also reportedly a leader of the New Indigenous People’s Army for Reform (NIPAR), a paramilitary group directly under the AFP’s 8th Infantry Battalion. Salusad’s father had reportedly confiscated the taxes levied by the barangay government on small-scale mining operations in the area.

Resisted offers of mining corporations
 
In a report by the group FrontlineDefenders, it was said that Liguyon, in his capacity as barangay captain, consistently refused to sign agreements with mining companies , which would have allowed them access to operate on the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples. He also refused to recognize the ancestral domain claims made by Sanmatrida..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/03/16/anti-mining-advocate-in-bukidnon-killed-inside-his-own-home/

Groups declare ‘People’s Protest’ a success

Groups declare ‘People’s Protest’ a success


Sidebar: Ordinary citizens express disgust over oil price hikes
MANILA – To jeepney driver Seth Delima Bagalacsa, president of a chapter of Piston in Quezon City, the March 15 peoples’ protest had already won a small victory since three days before, when the energy department and the oil firms announced there would be no oil price hike this week. It contradicted its previous announcements.

“They don’t want to admit that the Peoples’ Protest has anything to do with it but the people know better,” said George San Mateo, national chairman of Piston (Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide), during the first part of their program at the Elliptical Road in Quezon City.

Bagalacsa and other drivers from his route joined the March 15 peoples’ protest, because, as he explained to Bulatlat.com while driving his jeep with the caravan en route to the headquarters of the Big Three oil firms in Makati City, “conducting mass protests evidently brought results.”

Such initial victory is “proof that mass protests are indeed effective,” said George San Mateo, national chairman of nationwide drivers’ Piston, during the start of their program at Ayala Ave. in Makati.


Transport caravan is transport strike? (Photo by Marya Salamat / bulatlat.com)
March 15 was dubbed as Protestang Bayan (Peoples’ Protest) because it was a multi-sectoral protest held not just by drivers but also by workers, urban poor groups, youth-students, professionals, families of migrants, etc. Even though it was considered as the ‘peak’ of the campaign, so far, against skyrocketing oil prices, KMU chairman Elmer “Bong” Labog said the workers led by KMU will still launch “bigger protests in the coming months,” until some relief from increasing oil prices is achieved.

Multi-sectoral groups of protesters set up more than 30 protest centers in the National Capital Region, including those in Monumento, Batasan, Sta. Mesa, Delpan, Philcoa, and Araneta Avenue. Protests were also held across the country, from Baguio City to the urbanized towns in Southern Tagalog, from Aklan to Panay to Cagayan de Oro and Davao in the South. The drivers’ group Piston also held a protest caravan from Quezon City to Makati City, one of its biggest since it started doing protest caravans..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/03/16/groups-declare-%E2%80%98people%E2%80%99s-protest%E2%80%99-a-success/

Credible witnesses CROSSROADS Jonathan De la Cruz 03/17/2012

Credible witnesses

CROSSROADS
Jonathan De la Cruz
03/17/2012
Despite efforts by the House prosecution panel and some senator-judges to bamboozle and, yes, trap the witnesses presented by the defense team in the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, they have stood their ground. More importantly, the public and most of the senator-judges have found them to be credible.

One observer advised that many of his friends who were known to be skeptical of Corona’s claims of innocence had a virtual change of mind when they heard the testimony of Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco. He found the youthful solon’s narration about the undue haste by which the complaint was outlined, voted upon and sent to the Senate, straightforward and credible. “He was just telling the truth,” was how this observer described what he saw and heard on the first day of the defense’s story.

What made Tiangco’s testimony even more compelling and, yes, convincing to this observer was the manner by which the House leadership reacted to his volunteering as a defense witness. He did not look kindly at the threats and bullying of House Majority Leader “Boyet” Gonzalez, a sentiment which seems to be universally shared even by those who continue to be imbued with the yellow color and aligned with P-Noy and his group..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120317com2.html

Occupy Monsanto vs genetically modified Congress (w/ Photos)

Occupy Monsanto vs genetically modified Congress


America’s Congress has been contaminated, but don’t worry — someone is already on it. Members of Occupy Monsanto, a protest group opposed to the biotech giant, are dispatching aid to the nation’s capital.
Dressed in hazmat suits, members of Occupy Monsanto protested in Washington, DC on Friday over what they say are corrupt ties between American lawmakers and the country’s agriculture architect, Monsanto.

Based in the American Midwest, the Monsanto corporation is believed to be aiding in the bankrupting of small-time farms across the country by chemically engineering genetically modified seeds that are not just unnatural, but near impossible to compete with. Concerned over the toxic make-up of their man-made crops, as well as their corrupt connection with the US Congress, the Occupy Monsanto group is in Washington this weekend to make their voices heard.

"In the name of Wall Street profits, chemical corporations such as Monsanto genetically engineer crops to withstand high doses of their toxic weed killers that contaminate our food and water, and have not been proven safe,” explains Occupy Monsanto’s Ariel Vegosen in a statement made this week..... MORE
SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/occupy-monsanto-modified-congress-751/

Tales from the crypt: Bin Laden ‘ordered comrades to kill Obama’

Tales from the crypt: Bin Laden ‘ordered comrades to kill Obama’

Osama Bin Laden was plotting to kill US President Barack Obama, documents found at the terrorist’s Pakistani hideout show. But though this portrays him as an even greater villain, the problem is that he could have been dead for years.

The plot involved killing the US President and General David Petraeus, who was at that time the commander of ISAF forces in Afghanistan, by attacking their planes.

The Washington Post was given access to declassified documents that were picked up by US forces after killing Bin Laden last May. The newspaper reveals the details of an assassination plot conceived by Bin Laden and one of his top lieutenants..... MORE
SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/bin-laden-obama-assassination-791/

In America, TV watches you: CIA to spy on people through household items

In America, TV watches you: CIA to spy on people through household items


With a growing number of ‘smart gadgets,’ spying on homes may start to become much easier. In fact, CIA Chief David Petraeus admitted that Americans were effectively bugging themselves and making it easy for spy agencies to peek in on their lives.

­Speaking at a summit for In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital firm, Petraeus noted that new devices that link ‘dumb’ home appliances such as refrigerators, ovens and lighting systems to the Internet could “change our notion of secrecy.”

“‘Transformational’ is an overused word, but I do believe it properly applies to these technologies, particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft,” Petraeus noted..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/cia-spy-people-petraeus-795/

Defense: Aquino’s men flout SALn rule By Benjamin B. Pulta 03/17/2012

ABAD ADMITS USING ASSESSED VALUE ON PROPERTIES

Defense: Aquino’s men flout SALn rule

By Benjamin B. Pulta 03/17/2012

The counsels fop Chief Justice Renato Corona yesterday alleged members of the Aquino Cabinet regularly flout the law requiring disclosure of assets and liabilities despite the executive department’s insistence of using the same law to persecute the head magistrate.

Noting a recent published report of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) uncovering shortcomings in the compliance with the disclosure law by Cabinet officials in filing their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALns), defense spokesman Ramon Esguerra said the report only proves that the Aquino administration is only interested in misusing the law to pin down Corona.

“The malice they are imputing is more imagined than real as the assets were declared in the pertinent SALns of the CJ,” Esguerra told the Tribune in a text message..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120317hea1.html

Studes slam Palace inaction on tuition, oil price hikes By Jason Faustino 03/17/2012

Studes slam Palace inaction on tuition, oil price hikes

By Jason Faustino 03/17/2012

Students from the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and different youth organizations slammed the Aquino government for being unresponsive to unrest fomented by tuition increases and overpricing of oil.

The NUSP said the Palace continues to discredit the people’s protests rather than addressing the demands of the youth to prevent the increase of tuition and to end the monopoly and overpricing on oil prices.

“We believe that Palace should avoid actions that divert us from meaningful discourse and cause inconvenience to the public. Stop ‘Noynoying’ on oil price increases and address the immediate calls of the Filipino people,” said Isabelle Baguisi, National Secretary General of NUSP..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120317nat12.html

House OKs nationwide cadastral survey By Charlie V. Manalo 03/17/2012

House OKs nationwide cadastral survey

By Charlie V. Manalo 03/17/2012

The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a bill authorizing the Land Management Bureau (LMB) to conduct a nationwide cadastral survey to curb the proliferation of fake land titles.

House Bill 5870 authored by San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito aims to restore the integrity of land titles by identifying bonafide landowners and claimants.

Ejercito said land owners must be protected against defective titles. The integrity of the Torrens Title System, as a foundation of ownership to real property must be enhanced, so that in the end, the faith and reliance of the people on the integrity of the land title will be restored.

Under the measure to be known as the “Cadastral Survey Act of 2012,” the LMB is authorized to conduct a survey of the entire country..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120317nat10.html

DepEd exam lets OSYs go back to school By Jason Faustino 03/17/2012

DepEd exam lets OSYs go back to school

By Jason Faustino 03/17/2012

Out of school children and youth may have the chance to go back to school by passing the 2012 Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT), Educatio Sec. Bro. Armin Luistro announced.

“Our modest contribution to nation-building is to give our youth a fighting chance to succeed in life through the placement test,” said Luistro.

The test result will determine the grade or year level appropriate for the test taker. PEPT covers all levels from Grade 1 to Fourth Year high school so that takers can have a chance to move to the next grade or year level or even complete basic education in just one examination. “That is possible if they are doing home schooling or if they have acquired enough knowledge and life skills,” Luistro explained..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120317nat5.html

P1.16-M ‘hot’ logs seized 03/17/2012

P1.16-M ‘hot’ logs seized

03/17/2012
Members of the Anti-Logging Task Force (ALTF) backed up by operatives of the 67th Infantry Battalion have confiscated P1.16-million worth of lawaan logs measuring 242 cubic meters in a series of operations in Boston, Davao Oriental Wednesday.

Major Jacob Thaddeus Obligado, commanding officer of the 10th Civil-Military Operation Battalion, said the apprehension was made in Sitio Baybay, Barangay San San Jose and Sitio Baclinan, Barangay Cawanan, all of Boston, Davao Oriental.

He said the logs are now in the custody of the Boston Police Station..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120317nat1.html

‘JV’ denies rift with Navotas solon 03/17/2012

‘JV’ denies rift with Navotas solon

03/17/2012
San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito yesterday denied there is an existing rift between him and friend Navotas Rep. Tobias “Toby” Tiangco as he scored those trying to sow intrigue between him and the Navotas solon.

In a statement, Ejercito stressed efforts to destroy his friendship with Tiangco are irrelevant as his friendship with the Navotas lawmaker goes beyond politics.

The other day, a national newspaper ran a story saying Ejercito contradicted Tiangco’s testimony at the Senate over the impeachment trial of Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona saying no members of the House were coerced to sign the Articles of Impeachment..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120317met2.html

Echiverri to shoulder graduating studes’ togas 03/17/2012

Echiverri to shoulder graduating studes’ togas

03/17/2012
Aware of the difficulties most poor parents are experiencing nowadays, Caloocan City Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri has decided to shoulder the rental cost of the togas to be used by all local public elementary and high school students this graduation season.

“It is only right for the local government to ease the burden on the graduating students’ parents who may otherwise have a difficult time with their children’s toga expenses,” according to the city chief executive.
The mayor said it is the local government’s responsibility to provide for the needs of the less fortunate among its constituents.

For this reason, Echiverri chose to “treat” the parents and graduating students with the togas that the latter will use..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120317met4.html

DILG starts analyzing stories written by Tribune reporter Angeles By Gina Peralta-Elorde 03/17/2012

DILG starts analyzing stories written by Tribune reporter Angeles

By Gina Peralta-Elorde 03/17/2012


The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has already started a content analysis of the stories written by Tribune reporter Fernan Angeles who was beaten up and shot near his house on Evangelista Street in Barangay Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City last Sunday.

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said Angeles’ news articles may provide clues to determine the motive behind the attack on him.

Robredo said they are scanning Angeles stories which were published in the paper such as criticisms against authorities or stories mentioning harassment, extortion and illegal drugs..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120317met5.html

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